Colwyn Bay

Guide dogs join the fun at new store

Colwyn Bay's mother and daughter team marked the £400k expansion and relocation of the town's Specsavers, with a fun-packed launch party in aid of the Guide Dogs charity.

Guide Dogs campaigner Mark Jones, his wife Natalie and her assistance dog Sidney, joined Specsavers store directors Erica and Rachel Chapman, both from Colwyn Bay, and their whole store team to celebrate the store’s move from Seaview Road to a larger unit at Bayview Shopping Centre.

Growing to the next level

Since Erica’s arrival as store director in 2013, and the subsequent arrival of her daughter Rachel as joint store director in 2015, demand has grown at Specsavers to the point that larger premises became essential.

The move will create 10 new jobs in the town over the next 12 months, and has significantly expanded facilities in store. This is additional to audiology director Filipe Dias who joined the store and has revolutionised its audiology offering.

Erica said: ‘We’re delighted Guide Dogs were able to join us for a big day, and on behalf of the whole team, we would like to say thank you to everyone that was able to join us.

Bigger and better

‘We were so excited for customers to see all the improvements. The new store has four test rooms and space for a fifth in the future.

‘We also have a private teaching area to help customers get to grips with their new contact lenses, and also plenty of seating in the lounge area to ensure our customers are comfortable during any waiting time.

‘All of this means we’ll be able to offer 25% more appointments every week, so customers won’t have to wait long to be seen in store by an expert.’

The store also continues to offer Welsh Eyecare Services, which sees opticians across the country deliver primary eyecare services on behalf of the NHS in the form of targeted clinical tests.